Adobe, ARM Team to Boost Flash and AIR for ARM-Powered Devices

At the Adobe MAX 2008 conference, Adobe announces a partnership with ARM to optimize Adobe Flash and AIR for ARM-powered devices. The collaboration is expected to accelerate mobile graphics and video capabilities on ARM platforms to bring rich Internet applications (RIAs) and Web services to mobile devices and consumer electronics worldwide.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Adobe and ARM have announced a technology
collaboration to optimize Adobe Flash Player 10 and Adobe AIR for ARM
powered devices, ranging from mobile phones to set-top boxes, mobile
Internet devices, televisions, automotive platforms, personal media
players and other mobile computing devices.
At the Adobe MAX 2008 conference here, officials from both companies
said the collaboration is expected to accelerate mobile graphics and
video capabilities on ARM platforms to bring rich Internet applications
(RIAs) and Web services to mobile devices and consumer electronics
worldwide.

The joint technology optimization is targeted for the ARMv6 and
ARMv7 architectures used in the ARM11 family and the Cortex-A series of
processors and is expected to be available in the second half of 2009,
company officials said.

Moreover, the new partnership stems from the Open Screen Project,
a broad Adobe-sponsored initiative of industry leaders - including ARM
- to deliver a consistent runtime environment across multiple devices
by taking advantage of Adobe Flash Player and, in the future, Adobe
AIR, Adobe said. The initiative is set to address the challenges of Web
browsing on a broad range of screens and remove the barriers to publish
content and applications seamlessly across screens, the company said.
"Video created for the Adobe Flash Player is the leading video
format on the Web today, and this collaboration with ARM is another
important step towards bringing the complete Web experience to mobile
devices worldwide," said Gary Kovacs, general manager and vice
president, Mobile and Devices at Adobe, in a statement. "We are pleased
to work with ARM and the other industry leaders in the Open Screen
Project to make browsing and applications as rich and powerful in
mobile as they are on the desktop."
"ARM believes this partnership will develop optimized Adobe Flash
and AIR implementations that will run on billions of devices from our
partners such as pocket-sized mobile devices, mobile computing
platforms, set-top boxes, digital TVs and automotive infotainment,"
said Ian Drew, vice president of marketing at ARM. "The combination of
Adobe Flash and ARM's low-power processor IP and Mali GPUs will ensure
a fantastic Internet experience for consumers on the world's leading
32-bit architecture."
Meanwhile, several industry players weighed in with support for the Adobe/ARM partnership.
"Samsung looks forward to having Flash Player 10 and AIR fully
supported on our range of optimized ARM technology-based Application
Processors and SoC products," said Yiwan Wong, vice president of
marketing, Samsung Electronics' System LSI Division, in a statement.
"This initiative will enable Flash Player 10 content to be accessible
by any ARM technology-based consumer devices with a screen and
connectivity, and at very low power consumption, offering consumers the
ultimate mobile Internet experience beyond what is available today on
standard PC platforms."
Also in a statement, Michael Rayfield, general manager of NVIDIA's
mobile business, said: "NVIDIA is working with ARM and Adobe to ensure
Adobe Flash technology takes full advantage of NVIDIA Tegra
computer-on-a-chip solutions through open standards such as OpenGL ES
2.0. ARM CPU technology, tightly integrated with NVIDIA's
ultra-low-power GeForce GPUs and media acceleration, enhances the
ability of Adobe Flash technology to provide the full Web experience
and compelling user interfaces in the palm of your hand."
The Adobe/ARM agreement will enable ARM and Adobe to deliver an
optimized Adobe Flash Player 10 for the ARM architecture as well as API
support for GPUs and hardware accelerators. The collaboration is also
expected to lower power consumption for mobile devices running Flash
Player 10 and AIR content.
Moreover, Adobe Flash Player 10 for ARMv6 and ARMv7
architecture-based hardware is expected to be available royalty-free to
partners participating in the Open Screen Project. Flash Player 10 for
ARM processor-based devices will be made available to OEMs by
Adobe.

Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.